Archive of Our Own

Henry Jekyll was, to say the least, quite touch starved.

He didn’t get touched by other people often, more than polite handshakes or pats on his shoulder, and while those small touches got him aching for more, he never dared to seek out any further contact with anyone, even his friends. He had a reputation, and he had to be that perfect gentleman that everyone expected him to be, and a perfect gentleman did not show how much they craved physical affection, and they absolutely didn’t try to get it, no matter how much it hurt and how much they wanted someone to just hug them. It was not proper, and definitely nothing men did. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why he created Hyde; it gave him the perfect disguise to seek out that contact he so dearly craved, but it was not the same . That was Hyde , it was Hyde who got all the contact, although it was more often than not just sexual contact. That’s not what Henry wanted at all. He just wanted a hug . 

What he hadn’t expected, however, was that none other than Robert Lanyon would catch a whiff of the doctor’s secret desire. 

Henry hadn’t expected Robert to have the same craving that he did, but in the end, it made sense. Robert had grown up isolated and had taken... Playthings, during the recent years. It was only logical that the other man, too, was quite touch-starved, which gave both of them the perfect excuse to hold that contact with each other. It started with pats on the backs that lingered for just a moment too long or the two of them ruffling each other’s hair when no one was looking. It was those small touches that got each other going, and yet both just began to crave more . It took quite a long time, but after a while, they managed to get comfortable enough to play fight and then even hug . Oh boy. Both of them had silently agreed to never hug each other in front of people, or even when one of them was in a hurry, as they wouldn’t let go of each other until at least 15 minutes had passed, preferably more, although it almost got them even more touch-starved. Once they got a taste of that physical affection they had been craving so dearly, they just couldn’t give it up, even for just a short moment, even for just a split second .

That is, at least, how Robert and Henry found themselves in the biggest bearhug ever known to man in the middle of Jekyll’s office.

Robert’s arms were squeezed around Henry’s waist and Henry's were comfortably dangling over the other man’s shoulders, faces buried in the crook of each other’s necks. Neither of them were quite sure how they found themselves in this position but neither was complaining, and instead, both just chose to enjoy their best friend’s presence and affection. It felt heavenly and quite calming, so much so that Henry almost found himself snoozing ever so slightly, feeling comfortable enough to almost be lulled into sleep, which said a lot for an insomniac like him. It just felt so nice. Especially without the tight squeeze from his collar and cravat, which hung lazily around his shoulders. No expectations, no fears... Just Henry and Robert enjoying their long-lasting hug, enjoying the affection, enjoying the warmth and comfort that they both gave each other.

That was, at least, until Henry felt the tip of Robert’s nose sniffing at the crook of his neck.

Henry wasn’t sure why but feeling the tip of the other man’s pointy nose against his sensitive skin got him to tense ever so slightly, moving his shoulder up as if to swat the uncomfortable feeling away. That little action did not go unnoticed by Robert, however, as the older man soon moved his face a little so he could look at the other man’s face. At first, he was a bit confused, wondering if he had accidentally stepped over one of the doctor’s few boundaries before he realized what might have caused it, which made him grin ever so slightly. Hesitantly, Robert repeated the movement, moving his nose against Henry’s pale neck. As expected, the Scotsman began to squirm, although the smile that appeared on his lips was quickly caught by Robert, who merely raised an eyebrow at the action. The smile on Henry’s face quickly washed away when he noticed the way the older man was looking at him, though, to which it immediately got replaced with a brief panic as they both knew exactly what Robert was about to do.

“Don’t you dare.” 

Henry’s warning was, as expected, completely ignored by Robert, who almost immediately pressed his lips against the younger man’s neck and began to blow raspberries, tightening his grip around the other man’s waist as the doctor began to burst out laughing and squirm, desperately trying to get away from the horrible attack. Sadly, Robert was stronger and had the advantage of not being caught off guard, so Henry’s attempt to get away or swat Robert away from him had little to no result. If anything, it only got Robert to tickle him even more ; strengthening his forces but bringing his hands under Henry’s shirt to tickle the soft skin resting on his waist. It did not take long until Henry’s laughing turned to gasps for air and aggressive snorts as he tried to get away from the older man, pushing and pushing against Robert’s chest, although it only made everything worse as Robert tightened his grip and began to blow the raspberries harder.

“R-Robert, STOP!” He howled, finding it incredibly hard to speak as the laughing never stopped, even as he began to lose his footing with all of the squirmings, “Please, mercy!” 

“Never!” 

“Please! I- I can’t breathe!” 

While Henry still was laughing violently, it was clear that he had trouble actually getting oxygen into his lungs, to which Robert reluctantly stopped his attack... For now, just so that the poor doctor wouldn’t suffocate. Thank god that Robert was still holding the other man, though, as Henry almost fell to the ground once the tickling attack stopped. His face was a soft shade of red and his clothes were wrinkled and messy, an obvious sign of his attempt to escape the torture. Even though his panting and giggling never stopped, even as he tried to straighten himself out.

“You-” Henry started, cutting himself off with a soft cough, “You, my good sir, you’re a bloody devil.”

“It’s not my fault that you are so ticklish. Although I’m very delighted that you are.” Robert grinned, ghosting the tips of his fingers over a bit of bare skin on Henry’s waist, where his shirt had rid up after Robert’s assault. The mere touch got Henry to squirm once more, fueling Robert’s grinning, much to the doctor’s annoyance. 

“ Stop it . You’re being mean.” 

“Mean? Why, my dear Henry, I’m always mean.” 

Henry frowned softly, almost pouting as he swatted Robert’s hands away from his skin, gaining another laugh from the older man. Henry merely huffed and began to straighten his clothes, tucking his shirt into his pants and loosely tying his cravat back to his neck to keep Robert from attacking him again, before he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the other man, who clearly was amused by the doctor’s theatrics, and especially so when Henry looked more like a kicked puppy than actually mad.

“You’re a bloody asshole, that’s what you are.” 

“Woah, woah, woah. Language .” 

Henry glared even more at the aristocrat before he began to look him up and down. Of course Robert had almost every inch of skin covered, but that didn’t stop Henry from shooting his hands forward, trying to get his revenge on the older man but much to his frustration, as he moved his fingers over Robert’s neck, Robert didn’t move an inch at all. Instead, he merely pulled an eyebrow up and grinned, moving his hands forward but Henry immediately leaped away, almost falling over his desk in the process.

“Why aren’t you ticklish?” 

“Good question. But that doesn’t change the fact that you are.” 

Oh god, Henry definitely did not like that grin, nor the implications of those words. His gaze darted all over Robert’s body until they arrived back up at his face. Oh god, oh no. 

He barely managed to jump out of the way before Robert leaped forward, hands ready for the battle that soon would ensue, but as Robert stumbled once Henry was out of the way, the doctor was quite happy that he had learned a thing or two from Hyde; one of those things being agility and quick reflexes. As Robert tried to hurtle forward once more, Henry jumped out of the way and ran around his desk, standing on the opposite side as they both leaned and leaped in either direction in hopes of catching and fleeing from the other. The loud laughs that escaped them only fueled them both. Sure, they might be near 40 but that didn’t mean that they couldn’t have a little fun . Henry was quite sure he hadn’t felt so much like a young schoolboy since he graduated, and Robert was clearly enjoying their play too, which was obvious, as his bubbly laugh echoed throughout the large office. It almost, just almost, managed to distract Henry but he was quick to make sure that Robert was far out of reach. Sadly, that did not go as well as planned as Robert leaped forward and tackled Henry to the ground, his fingers immediately beginning their attack on Henry’s hips once more as the doctor burst out laughing in shock, feeling his stomach curling as he desperately tried to get Robert away as they rolled around on the floor. He couldn’t even try to defend himself! All he could do was to try to push Robert off him, but seeing as the older man was literally holding him down , that was quite hard. Poor Henry could do nothing but to try to get air as he suffocated in laughter while Robert cackled manically.

“Doctor Jay, Virginia was loo-”

As the office doors opened, both of the doctors’ attention immediately snapped towards the unexpected visitor, and both soon got face to face with a very confused Rachel. The cook took a good look at them, gazing up and down at the two men who laid on each other on the floor, before she just sighed and shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest.

“ Boys.” She tsked, rolling her eyes slightly despite a soft smile appearing on her lips, “Did I interrupt something? Should I leave and lock the door?” 

“Actually,” Robert grinned, “I just found out that our little doctor here is very ticklish, and I just had to take advantage of that.”

Rachel raised her eyebrow at the aristocrat. Robert merely grinned even brighter, before looking down at Henry, who finally had managed to calm down from his laughing fit. The blush on his face paled the moment he saw the look in Robert’s eyes, to which he immediately began to panic.

“Nonononon nonononon nononnononon -” 

Henry’s pleadings were in vain as the other doctor, once more, resumed his attacks. The Scotsman could do nothing but wriggle around in misery on the floor in an attempt to get away from Robert while still squirming by reflex and his loud, breathless laughs echoed through the office. He knew better than to expect help or mercy, and yet he was desperate.

“Rachel- HELP PLEASE.” He begged, but to his horror, Rachel merely put one hand on her hip and the other one pinching her chin, dramatically seeming in thought as she debated what her friend begged of her. In the end, she merely waved her hand dismissively, grinning that devilish grin that she was so known for.

“Hmm... Nah. Where is the fun in that? Just make sure he doesn’t suffocate, Robert.” Rachel merely said, turning towards the door once more while Robert continued the assault. As Henry’s continuous laughter echoed, Rachel stopped once more, turning back to the pair. “Oh, Virginia was looking for you, Henry, so whenever Robert lets you go, you should probably go and find her.” She smiled before she turned on her heel and stepped out of the office, closing the door and leaving Henry’s last hope for mercy behind her, even as she heard his continuous begging for help through gasps of air. Now, this was going to be fun.

--

It took almost half an hour before Henry managed to escape Robert’s clutches, and that was only because he almost choked on the dust on his floor twice and Robert’s hands started to ache. Henry was quite sure he simply had to give up all physical affection he and Robert had ever shared because he was sure Robert would continue to use his ticklishness against him, like the bastard he was. At least he could be lucky that he hadn’t messed up his clothes too badly, but that didn’t change the fact that his shirt was wrinkled enough that you could have thought he got it straight out of the attic. However, he did not have time to dwell on it too much, as he was glad to escape his office before Robert would regain the movement in his fingers, knowing he would just resume his attacks as soon as possible. Thank god for Virginia Ito and her good timing.

Luckily, her lab was only a short walk away from Jekyll’s office, so despite still being heavily out of breath, he did not have to strain himself too much while walking through the society. He could almost feel how he was lulled into a sense of security since he was, after all, safe from Robert now. Robert was still in the office and doing paperwork until Henry would come back, so Henry was safe from his attacks... For now. After all, it wasn’t like anyone else knew that the doctor was ticklish... Except for Rachel, but she was probably back in the Kitchen, preparing for dinner right now, so Henry was perfectly safe... Right? Of course he was safe. Why wouldn’t he be? It wasn’t like the Lodgers were going to do something to him.

“There he is, lads!” 

Oh no.

He did not like the sound of that.

Henry turned towards the sound, only to see Luckett, Mosley, and Sinnett grinning like hungry hyenas right by the corner, moving closer and closer to the doctor despite their ominous body language. Henry could feel himself gulping nervously as he looked around him, automatically taking a step back as the three men got closer, although that didn’t stop them from following after.

“My good men! Were you searching for me?” Henry tried, smiling nervously. Oh god, he did not like the way they looked at each other before their gazes returned to him, like they were silently communicating with each other. Uh-huh. 

“That we were, Jekyll dearest. That we were.” Mosley almost cooed, making it quite clear for the doctor that something definitely was up. Henry could not see his face through his mask and goggles but he was quite sure that he was grinning just as badly as Luckett and Sinnett. If the three of them hadn’t looked like a pair of devils before, they certainly did now. 

“Get ‘im, boys!” 

Before Henry knew what was happening, the three Lodgers practically threw themselves at him, tackling him to the ground while doing much exactly like Robert had done earlier; moving their fingers over every piece of bare skin they could on the doctor, which, luckily, only was his waist and his neck. Immediately, the alchemist erupted into aggressive laughter as he curled up on the floor, trying to swat away his attackers but to no avail. Like scavengers stripping a carcass from its bones, they left the doctor no chance to fight back, despite his pleas filling the air. Not even as he began to try to push them away, and not even as his legs began to kick in reflex, did they spare him any mercy. Instead, it almost felt like they were starting to tickle him even more .

“Devils! Traitors! GET OFF OF ME!” The doctor managed to press out in between his laughing and choking for air. Of course, neither of the three men spared any time to listen to Henry’s pleas, since it seemed like they were all clearly having a grand time torturing poor Henry. Once more, all blood began to rush to his face, painting his pale skin in rouge, a stark contrast to his white complex. It only seemed to fuel the three men more, their fingers wiggling over every inch of skin that their greedy hands could reach, even with Henry’s squirming.

“What is going on out he-”

As Virginia turned the corner, she was met with quite a peculiar sight; her own senior squirming on the marble floor while Mosley, Luckett, and Sinnett were, seemingly, attacking him with tickles. The three other Lodgers’ gazes immediately snapped towards the woman as they heard her voice, stopping their movements in shock which gave Henry a moment to catch his breath. Virginia merely crossed her arms in front of her chest, and gave the three Lodgers a stern look, although none of them got a chance to speak before Henry began to crawl away from his attackers and to Virginia, the exhaustion from all of the laughing and struggling quite clear on his face and all of his body language.

“ Virginia , thank god .” He panted, “Thank god, these bastards are trying to murder me.” 

“ Murder you?” Virginia repeated, watching as the doctor began to cough while trying to stand up. He wasted no time running behind his apprentice for cover, looking over her shoulder at his three attackers despite being quite a lot taller than his apprentice. Mosley, Luckett, and Sinnett all tried to seem innocent while they played everything off, although the amused smiles on their lips never left their smug faces. “It seems more like they were tickling you, Henry.”

“Same thing! First Robert and now these traitors.”

Virginia pulled an eyebrow higher, glancing back at her senior who was still cowering behind her, before looking back at Mosley, Luckett, and Sinnett who were all beginning to stand up. The three men were quite sure that the woman would begin to scold them, but instead, she merely grinned, raising an eyebrow at them once more, although she made sure that her alchemical senior had no way of seeing those expressions on her face, even if she really didn’t do a lot to hide it, either.

“ Traitors , huh? Well, you know what they say; keep your allies close and your enemies closer.” 

It took the doctor only a moment to process his junior’s words, but when he did, it was too late. Virginia had already turned around and practically threw the doctor back into the pack of metaphorical hyenas, taking the opportunity to start tickling Henry herself as well like the absolute bastard she was. Henry barely got any time to realize what was happening until he was already bursting out laughing, squirm under the touch of not one, not two, not three but four attackers wiggling their fingers over his sensitive skin, wasting no time to get under his shirt for more space for their attacks despite Henry’s squirming.

“Assholes! Bastards! ” The doctor choked, trying his best to push the others away, although he had little to no control over where his limbs were floundering which, obviously, made it quite hard to do anything but to try to move away, “I’ve done nothing! I’m- I’m innoc- STOP! PLEASE!”

The four Lodgers shared a glance, silently debating if they should give mercy to poor Henry before they agreed to ease their attacks so that the doctor could breathe. After all, it would do no good if Henry accidentally suffocated, even if they clearly were having fun with their newfound knowledge of the doctor’s weakness. God bless Rachel for immediately telling the nearest Lodgers of her recent findings when she found out that Henry was so ticklish. Either way, Henry just began to gasp for air now that the four pairs of hands finally left his body, allowing him enough movement to grab the nearest wall for support while his muscles relaxed and he began to heave for air. He could feel the world blackening for just a moment but he was quick to regain his breathing, panting heavily as he looked over at his attackers, who were all grinning smugly, although the slight look of worry was clear on all of their faces.

“You-” He gasped, trying to not get out of breath by just speaking, even if that didn’t go as well as hoped, “you are all bastards . What the fuck . Especially you , Virginia. I expected better from you.”

“Don’t lie to yourself, doctor. You know Vivi here is the worst one of us all.” Sinnett snickered, getting a glare from the junior alchemist at the nickname, which he just dismissed, even if he did cower ever so slightly.

“You know, if you are going to continue to complain, we might as well just... Oh, I don’t know, start tickling you again?” Luckett proposed, grinning from ear to ear as he watched the fear wash over the doctor’s face at the mere suggestion. Normally, of course, the Lodgers might have felt bad to have the doctor be scared of them, but all of them -even Henry- knew that this was just for fun, even if that didn’t make him much happier with all the tickling.

“Don’t you dare.” 

It was almost funny how he began to relive the entire situation when Robert found out, but luckily for him, this time, the Lodgers were further away than Robert had been, giving Henry enough time to notice the glance they shared with each other before they all tried to tackle him once more. This time, Henry was faster, and immediately took off running in the opposite direction. He could hear the laughter and calls from the other scientists but he didn’t care to listen, only trying to not suffocate and start to hyperventilate as he took off running without having much air in his lungs. He swayed corners and just ran and ran, clearly being able to hear the clatter of the Lodgers’ shoes as they ran after him, their laughing and evil cackling just as obvious. Henry wasn’t even looking where he was running, instead just following his instincts while looking back to make sure they weren’t close. He had to get away, he couldn’t allow them to start tickling him again, he had to-

“Henr-?”

Henry didn’t really have time to hear the person calling out to him, nor notice them before he had already accidentally run the person over. As both Henry and the poor person he just ran over fell to the ground, Henry’s thoughts were quickly cut off as he realized what he had just done.

“Ow… What the…” 

Oh fuck, he ran over Jasper .

“Doctor Jekyll?”

“So sorry, Jasper.” Henry quickly said, standing up and pulling Jasper up with him, looking the younger man up and down and helping him straighten his clothes, much to Jasper’s confusion. “I wasn’t looking where I was going, terribly sorry.” 

“What’s going on? Are you in trouble?” Jasper looked quite alert and concerned, trying to look behind Henry to see what he was running from. Henry himself just gulped, especially since he soon heard the running of the Lodgers once more.

“Well, the Lodgers found out that I’m ticklish and now they are trying to torture me,” Henry said quickly, moving around Jasper to not lose time. Much to his horror, Jasper merely grinned and grabbed his wrist keeping the frail doctor in place. “Jasper, don’t you fucking dare-” 

Of course, the werewolf had to be a bastard, like everyone else in this godforsaken building, because it only took a split second before the younger man began to wiggle his fingers by Jekyll’s neck, successfully getting the doctor to snort and squirm softly, even if he quickly tried and succeeded with pulling himself away before Jasper tickle him enough to get Henry to lose control of his limbs. Even then, Henry had no time to scold Jasper for doing this to him before he realized how close the footsteps of the other were, to which he resumed his sprint in the other direction. This time, he could also hear Jasper laughing behind him, before running after him too. Great. Now he had five persons trying to murder him! This was borderline torture, he was sure of it! At least he could be to be dramatic about it, while he quickly tried to come up with a plan in his mind as he ran despite his brain being fried and empty. Well, since he could not decide on a better strategy, he decided to do what he did best; run away from his problems and hope for the best, while also making sure that he watched where he was looking to avoid running into anyone else. 

Even as the doctor wayed and rounded multiple confused Lodgers in his sprint, many of them tried to stop him to get to know what was happening, but as Henry continued to run, closely followed by five more Lodgers who were laughing in amusement of the alchemist’s panic, many of them began to join the chase once they found out what it all was about. Apparently, all of them thought it was incredibly amusing that Henry was so ticklish that he began to flee from those who wanted to tickle him. First, it was Virginia, then it was Jasper, but now practically the entire building had joined the chase; with the exception of Mrs. Cantilupe and Dr. Maijabi, who were all too old but all too amused to join the younger folks’ play. That didn’t stop them from giving away Henry’s position once the Lodgers finally lost track of him, though, much to Henry’s exhausted dismay. If he had trouble breathing before then he was quite sure it would take an entire day before he would regain all the oxygen he lost, both from the tickling as well as all the running. In the end, he was quite sure he had run around the entire building at least twice, but he was also quite sure that the Lodgers had teamed up and began to hide around the building in attempts to catch the doctor, especially since they had jumped out of their hiding places and began to chase him when he ran past. Seeing as no place in the society seemed safe, it gave him one option.

Luckily, he didn’t have to process how dumb of an idea it was to run to the attic, because as he ran past a seemingly empty corridor, he was immediately grabbed by a giant, green hand and pulled into the hallway.

“Could you care to explain what, in the name of God, is going on?”

Oh, thank god. 

It was just The Creature. Henry had almost thought a Lodger caught him.

“Adam, thank god it’s you.” The doctor gasped, as he finally allowed himself to catch his breath. He didn’t even notice that the creature was holding his collar and keeping him above ground. He was just so happy to finally breathe.

“That doesn’t answer my question, doctor.” The green man said, seeming quite unimpressed by Henry’s praises, “Are the Lodgers trying to hurt you? Why are they chasing you?”

“Ah- well, they are not necessarily trying to hurt me, but uh… Well, apparently they found out that I’m ticklish, and they decided to use that against me.” Henry explained, still panting, as he frantically looked around the corridor to make sure that no Lodger was to be found. Still empty, thank god, he was saved!

“So you're telling me… That all of this is a game ?” Adam repeated, furrowing his eyebrows, almost in disgust. “They have been chasing you around like madmen because it’s fun?” 

“...For them it is, surely. Not so much for me, since I’m the one getting chased.” Henry shrugged, or did his best attempt at a shrug. He honestly didn’t mind getting dangled so much, even if it was slightly uncomfortable, but at least this was better than getting tickled, although he couldn’t help but get nervous once he heard Adam sigh as the creature pinched the bridge of his nose with his other hand. Henry didn’t really think anything of it until Adam began to walk out of the corridor and back the way Henry ran from, to which Henry began to cling on to his arms while looking wildly around them, “What are you doing? They will find me!” 

“That’s the point, doc.” Adam sighed, holding the doctor up and away from him like you’d hold a trash bag when emptying the trash can, or maybe a feisty stray that had accidentally sneaked into your home during the night. The latter imagery was quite fitting, and especially as Henry began to struggle, almost trying to claw at Adam’s green skin while his legs wrapped around the giant man’s arm, trying to struggle his way out of the grip in panic. 

“NoOoononooooononononono, you don’t understand . If they find me, they will-” 

“They will tickle you. I know. I heard that.” Adam pulled a grimace, almost in disgust, “You have run around like a madman the entire afternoon. Unless I stop you and give you over to them, you’re bound to make something bad happen. There is no point in trying to struggle, you won’t be able to escape anyway.” 

The creature's warning, however, went completely unheard by Henry who continued to try to claw himself out from his horrible fate. For a moment, he debated pulling an Edward Hyde and trying to bite his ‘kidnapper’, but in the end, decided that a mouthful of living corpse really was not all that ideal and nothing he would ever like to try. That didn’t stop him from trying to kick his way out of the grip though, even if Adam didn’t even flinch. God damn it, Henry, pull yourself together and get out of this before the Lodgers see you! He tried to grab ahold of the creature’s wrist, trying to yank away his collar from Adam’s grip, trying to desperately escape-

“Ey lads! ‘Ere he is!” 

OH NO. 

The Lodgers didn’t need to be loud for Henry to hear their laughing or excited shouts when Henry was in their field of view. This had long since turned into a day off to play and relax for them, almost like a giant group activity, so of course they weren’t going to let Henry go that easily. Especially not when they saw Creature holding him like a feisty stray cat, while Jekyll was trying to claw his way out of the grip in terror. However, once Henry realized that there was no way he could try to get out of the green man’s grip, he merely began to cling to his arm in a desperate attempt to not get thrown to the metaphorical wolves. Adam just seemed mildly inconvenienced by the doctor’s struggling, merely sighing before he began to try to shake the Scotsman off while the Lodgers gathered around him. 

“God damn it, doctor, get off of me!” 

“Over my dead body!” 

“If you are going to continue to cling to me, we can certainly fix that!” 

Maybe Henry wouldn’t have been as terrified if he couldn’t hear the roars of laughter from the Lodgers as Adam began to shake his arm like you would when you accidentally placed your hand in something sticky and desperately tried to get it off. It certainly was hard for the doctor to hold on but he, surprisingly, managed quite well. Although that luck quickly disappeared as he felt hands starting to grab him, tugging and dragging him to try to get him off of the creature’s arm. He just tightened his grip, holding on for dear life, and actually managed to hold on, until he felt a pair of slender fingers on his waist, right where his shirt had, once more, ridden up to expose delicate skin on his waist. Like having a fit, the doctor began to twitch and laugh once more, although it was soon with dawning horror that he noticed that he was losing his grip. He tried to cling on for dear life, trying to keep himself from falling but the torture soon got unbearable, feeling his skin and muscles tingle with such a horrible sensation that it just began to kick in his reflexes, making him burst out laughing while also making his body twitch. It was horrible, and soon enough, he could feel more pairs of hands join the search for clear skin over his body, and the doctor was left helpless.

It took merely a few moments before Henry fell off of Adam’s arm, falling to the ground but luckily getting his fall smoothened by arms that caught him, but then held him in place as the attacks resumed. He wasn’t the only one who was laughing, although he was quite sure that he was the only one that was laughing because he got tickled. Some Lodgers began to grab after his kicking legs and flailing arms, keeping him from struggling while more and more pairs of hands began to pile up on his sensitive body. He could vaguely hear Creature’s loud and heavy footsteps walking away from him, leaving him defenseless and alone in the sea of bastards who tortured him, just for the fun of it, while he was left laughing and bursting at the seams while trying to keep himself together and while the Lodgers were having the time of their lives.

Even when the Lodgers later would be exhausted, finally letting the poor doctor rest, they all would just sit and lay down in heaps on the floor and laugh and giggle about what they all just had done. Some were quite happy for that rest, having run around the Society for ages before they finally caught Henry, and some still had enough energy to poke and start to tickle their neighboring Lodger next to them. However, they let Henry rest for now, just to be a bit kind to him after having chased and tortured him, and he really seemed exhausted as it almost looked like he was about to fall asleep on the cold floor. Although there wasn’t much rest for the Society once Robert and Rachel stumbled upon the large pile of Lodgers on the ground, and the aristocrat and cook began to muse about whether or not they should be concerned or find the whole situation quite hilarious. Especially so when the exhausted Lodgers began to roar with laughter at being caught on the floor after a whole day of games and play.

While Henry didn't like to be tickled, he really couldn’t deny that he minded the attacks all that much. After all, they were all just having fun, even if the Lodgers could be certain that Henry would get his revenge… Some way or another.